Stapler remover attachments for stapling machines

ABSTRACT

A staple-applying and removing apparatus comprising a stapler provided with an operating handle and a staple remover housed in the handle and attached thereto and adapted to be manually projected from the handle without detaching it therefrom, into operating position.

0 United States Patent m1 3,563,513

[ Inventors 31; zg g [56] References Cited W; UNITED STATES A N Harry Radzinsky,2501 S. Ocean Drive, 2 675 989 4 1954 V I P TE TS Hollywood, Fla. 33020 i i oge 227/63X [21] Appl. No. 784,600 Primary Examiner-Othell M. Simpson [22] Filed Dec. 18, 1968 Assistant Examiner-David R. Melton [45] Patented Feb. 16, 1971 Attorney-Harry Radzinsky [s41 swan REMQ EB. ATTACHMENTS FOR STAPLING MACHINES 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs. ['52] US. Cl. 254/28, ABSTRACT: A staple-applying and removing apparatus com- 227/63 prising a stapler provided with an operating handle and a sta- [51] Int. Cl. B25c 11/00 ple remover housed in the handle and attached thereto and [50] Field of Search 254/28; adapted to be manually projected from the handle without 227/63 detaching it therefrom, into operating position.

l STAPLE REMOVER ATTACHMENTS FOR STAPLING MACHINES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION At the present time, stapling machines for the affixment of staples to sheets of paper or to many other materials are in wide use. This is particularly true of the small so-called plier types. Often the user of one of these machines finds it necessary to remove a misplaced staple or one holding together sheets orother elements which he desires to separate. For this purpose a separate staple remover is used. Such staple removers as presently known, are small in size and they are thus easily misplaced or lost or are often unavailable when needed so that the user must resort to other means for removing a staple and in his effort to do so there is the likelihood that he might damage the sheet or other material through which the staple extends. I

The present comprehends the provision of a device in which a staple remover is permanently connected with a staple-inserting machine, thus bringing the staple remover always within the reach of the user of the stapler. The invention further contemplates the attachment of a staple remover to a stapler in a manner to completely house the staple remover in a part of the stapler such as the operating handle thereof, thus maintaining the staple remover when not in use in a concealed position in unused space in the stapler and where it in no way interferes with nor impedes the normal use of the stapler. The invention further contemplates the provision of means by which the staple remover can be extended from the handle into operating position when desired and without requiring its detachment from the stapler, thus providing an arrangement that avoids separation of the staple remover from the stapler at any time and enables the staple remover to be instantly available for the removal of a staple that has been improperly or inadvertently inserted or located at the wrong place by the stapler.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawing wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed and wherein:

FIG. FIG. I is a top plane 'view of a stapler to which a staple remover has been applied, the staple remover being shown in its extended or operative position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG. I. looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the operating lever or handle of a stapler showing the staple remover in its retracted position in which it is housed in the channel in the handle;

FIG. 5 is a view of the structure of FIG. 4 as seen from below; and

FIG. 6 shows a construction in which the staple remover is mounted in the handle in a manner to enable the staple remover to be extended at an angle to the handle after the staple remover has been moved to a position in which it projects out of the handle.

Referring to the drawing, there is therein shown and indicated generally at l, a staple applying machine of known construction and of the so-called "plier" type. Such a device includes a pair of jaws indicated generally at 3 and 3a, the jaws being pivotally connected together by the pin l8 and provided with the necessary known elements for feeding the staples, forcing them successively through the elements to be stapled together. such as sheets of paper, and clenching over the prongs of the staples.

The jaw 3 has a rearwardly extended portion 4 constituting an operating handle, while the jaw 3a is provided with a somewhat similar handle 5. As is seen in FIG. 3, the handle 4 is of channel shape in cross section and thus includes spaced side flanges or walls 6 and 7 integrally joined by a top web 8. This provides for an elongated recess in the form of a channel or groove 9 located between the flanges 6 and 7 and the connecting web 8 andthe staple remover, generally indicated at H is housed in said channel when it is located in its inoperative position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The staple remover II in the form shown, consists of a pair of hinged channel-shaped jaws l0 and 12 connected together at one end by a pivot pin 14 on which the jaws l0 and 12 can pivotally move. The jaws l0 and 12 are provided at their forward ends with points or prongs 15 which engage under and raise. a staple out of the sheets or other elements through which it is inserted. The jaws l0 and 12 are spring-biased to the spread or extended position shown in FIG. 1, by means of a torsional spring 20 (FIG. 3) in which position the staple remover is in its inoperative state.

The pivot pin 14 is slidable within the limits of an elongated slot 16 provided in the top web 8 of the handle 4.

Said pivot pin 14 has a head or button 15 located on the outside of the web 8 of the handle and said button 15 constitutes a finger piece by means of which the staple remover can be extended out of the rear open end of the handle 4 to its exposed and operative position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, or can be retracted into the handle to the concealed and inoperative position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

From the foregoing, the operation of the disclosed embodiment will be apparent. During the normal use of the stapler the staple remover 11 will remain in its retracted and inoperative position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 at which time it is completely maintained in a hidden position and out of the way and does not interfere with the free use of the stapler.

When it is desired to remove a staple out of the material through which it has been inserted, the button 15 is moved by finger pressure along in the slot 16 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 4, to thereby extend the staple remover 11 out of the rear open end of the channel 9 in the handle 4, the projection of the staple remover out of the handle being limited by the pin 14 reaching the rear end of the slot 16.

As the staple remover moves out of the handle 4, the jaws 10 and 12 spread apart under the bias of the spring 20 so that when the staple remover reaches. its fully extended position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the jaws l0 and 12 will have spread apart to the required extent to enable the staple remover to be operated in the required manner to remove a staple. This is done by a squeezing the jaws toward one another between the fingers to cause the prongs of the staple remover to engage under a staple and exert a cam action on it to raise it out of the material through which it is inserted.

When the staple remover is not required for use it is moved to the retracted, hidden and inoperative position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 by sliding it back into the handle 4. As it is moved back into the handle, the jaws l0 and 12 will be moved toward one another in opposition to the bias of the spring 20 which, when the staple remover is disposed within the handle will force the jaws l0 and 12 into frictional contact with the flanges 6 and 7 of the handle, thus preventing rattle and holding the staple remover against inadvertent displacement out of the handle. If necessary one or the other or both of the walls or flanges 6 and 7 might be provided with detent means to engage with the jaws of the staple remover to hold the remover in the required retracted position. In FIG. 3 slight spacing is shown between the jaws 10 and 12 and the flanges 6 and 7 for clarity in illustration. Actually the spring 20 urges the jaws l0 and I2 into firm contact with the inner faces of these walls or flanges as shown in FIG. 5.

To facilitate the sliding movement of the staple remover into the handle, the handle may have the entrance to its channel 9 flared slightly as shown at 17.

It will be noted that in FIGS. 1 and 2 the staple remover, when in its operative or extended position, will project directly to the rear of the handle. The staple remover can be conveniently operated while in this position, but it might by some individuals be found more convenient to use the staple remover while it is disposed at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the handle, or in the position shown in FIG. 6. To permit the required swing of the staple remover to bring it in such a position and atter it has been extended out of the handle, the side flanges 6 and 7 of the handle can be cut away to a required extent to enable the swing of the staple remover to be had.

While the stapler shown in the drawing and to which the staple remover has been applied, is shown as being of the socalled "plier type, it will be apparent that the present invention can also be applied to other forms of stapling machines such as those of the gun type, the desk type or any other type wherein a recess or cavity can be provided to house the staple remover so that the staple remover provides no projecting parts when in its housed position yet can be instantly brought into operative position and while remaining attached to the stapler.

We claim:

1. A staple remover attached to a staple-applying machine provided with an operating handle, the handle having a recess, the staple remover including a pair of pivotally connected jaws and being movably attached to the handle and accommodated within its recess when the jaws are in a closed position, the staple remover being movable to extend it out of the recess and cause spreading apart of its jaws without the staple remover becoming detached from the handle, thereby projecting the staple remover out of the handle and bringing its jaws into a spread-apart operative position.

2. A staple remover according to claim 1, wherein the handle is channel-shaped in cross section, the recess consisting of the channel in the handle, the staple remover consisting of a pair of pivotally connected jaws held in closed position while the staple remover is housed in the recess in the handle, and spring means carried by the staple remover for urging the jaws apart to a spread position when the staple remover is moved to a position out of the handle.

3. A staple remover according to claim 1, wherein the handle has its recess in the form of a channel within which the staple remover is normally housed, the staple remover having jaws, a pivot pin connecting the jaws, a spring for biasing the jaws apart when the staple remover is extended out of the channel, the handle having side flanges defining the channel and which urge the jaws toward one another when the staple remover is fitted within the channel.

4. A staple remover according to claim 3, wherein the handle is provided with a slot, the pivot pin connecting the jaws being slidably mounted in the slot, the ends of the slot respectively indicating the limits of extension or retraction of the staple remover in the handle.

5. A staple remover for attachment to a staple-applying device constructed according to claim 4, said device having a handle, and the staple remover being attached to the handle and movable into the handle or to an extended position out of the same.

6. A staple remover according to claim 5, wherein said staple remover consists of a pair of jaws connected by a pivot pin, the handle having a slot, the pivot pin being slidable in said slot, the jaws being moved toward one another to closed position by pressure exerted on the jaws by parts of the handle when the staple remover is inserted in the handle, and the jaws being spread apart to open position when the staple remover emerges from the handle, and means for spreading the jaws apart as the staple remover is extended out of the handle.

7. A stapler with a staple remover attached thereto, the stapler having an operating handle of channel cross section, the channel in the handle being defined by spaced sidewalls connected by a top web, a staple remover having jaws connected by a pivot pin and being spring biased to a position in which the jaws are spread apart at their ends, the web of the handle having an elongated slot, the pivot pin fitting in and being slidable in the slot to thereby move the staple remover into or out of the channel, the sidewalls of the handle being so spaced as to be effective on the jaws of the staple remover to close the jaws when the staple remover is moved to a position to locate it within the handle. 

1. A staple remover attached to a staple-applying machine provided with an operating handle, the handle having a recess, the staple remover including a pair of pivotally connected jaws and being movably attached to the handle and accommodated within its recess when the jaws are in a closed position, the staple remover being movable to extend it out of the recess and cause spreading apart of its jaws without the staple remover becoming detached from the handle, thereby projecting the staple remover out of the handle and bringing its jaws into a spread-apart operative position.
 2. A staple remover according to claim 1, wherein the handle is channel-shaped in cross section, the recess consisting of the channel in the handle, the staple remover consisting of a pair of pivotally connected jaws held in closed position while the staple remover is housed in the recess in the handle, and spring means carried by the staple remover for urging the jaws apart to a spread position when the staple remover is moved to a position out of the handle.
 3. A staple remover according to claim 1, wherein the handle has its recess in the form of a channel within which the staple remover is normally housed, the staple remover having jaws, a pivot pin connecting the jaws, a spring for biasing the jaws apart when the staple remover is extended out of the channel, the handle having side flanges defining the channel and which urge the jaws toward one another when the staple remover is fitted within the channel.
 4. A staple remover according to claim 3, wherein the handle is provided with a slot, the pivot pin connecting the jaws being slidably mounted in the slot, the ends of the slot respectively indicating the limits of extension or retraction of the staple remover in the handle.
 5. A staple remover for attachment to a staple-applying device constructed according to claim 4, said device having a handle, and the staple remover being attached to the handle and movable into the handle or to an extended position out of the same.
 6. A staple remover according to claim 5, wherein said staple remover consists of a pair of jaws connected by a pivot pin, the handle having a slot, the pivot pin being slidable in said slot, the jaws being moved toward one another to closed position by pressure exerted on the jaws by parts of the handle When the staple remover is inserted in the handle, and the jaws being spread apart to open position when the staple remover emerges from the handle, and means for spreading the jaws apart as the staple remover is extended out of the handle.
 7. A stapler with a staple remover attached thereto, the stapler having an operating handle of channel cross section, the channel in the handle being defined by spaced sidewalls connected by a top web, a staple remover having jaws connected by a pivot pin and being spring biased to a position in which the jaws are spread apart at their ends, the web of the handle having an elongated slot, the pivot pin fitting in and being slidable in the slot to thereby move the staple remover into or out of the channel, the sidewalls of the handle being so spaced as to be effective on the jaws of the staple remover to close the jaws when the staple remover is moved to a position to locate it within the handle. 